Wheeled toy axle mounting



July 25, 1950 J. H. NORTON WHEELED Toy AxLE MOUNTING Filed Aug. 20, 1946vn mm @n Me W. O WH Wm 6 Patented July 25, 1950 Jantes. Hg Auburn RubAuburn, Ind., assigner to`v berforporation, Auburn, Ind., a corporation'of Delaware Application Agst 20, 1946, serial Ne.. 691,715

This invention relates tojyvheeled toys of the type which suitable.supporting Wheels are attached to a bodywliich may be formed of. any.

suitablematerial, such as? 4for example, a flexible and .elasticcomposition suitable f or mold ing.

The object of the invention is to provide. ay

wheeled` toy so Aco 1 istructeclf t'h atit is inexpensive to manufacturebut .of, strong and durable Icon.-

struction. capableof withstanding. .rough 11S-age it is aisel anobjecttoso mount thesupporting Wheels andeXl-@stht they are .Qlusive-ed and.reinforcedby y.the vbodyin such manner that they can withstand heavythrusts Withoutdistortion. Withtheabove and other objects invievv, theinvention may be -saidto .comprise the Wheeled toyas illustrated in theaccompanying drawings;

hereinafter describedand particularlyset forth inthe appendedclaims,together .with such varia-iI tions and modifications thereof as willbea'ppar.- ent tooneskilled in the art to Which the inventionpertains.v. Reference should be. had tothe a'coempan'ying drawings forming a partof this specification, innvhich: Figurel. is a side elevation oftheWheeled toy With-its `iront portion broken. away and shovvn inlongitudinal verticalsectiom.. i.

Fig. 2 isabottoln .vievfv the ytoy Fig-... 3 is a fragmentaryyerticablongitudinal section through the front endl of the molded body; Figd isa side elevation of the axle retaining olip,.and Fig. 5. aj sectiontaken on the line indicated Eg^4`:i" 1.4" 'l .accompanying d ment ortheinventi. Insegne-piece; hollowrmolded body of iijeXble and, elastic.rubberlike material .molded te a ferm simulating the bed The body; mie'nouow. and'I side Walls I I.. which `are shan .ed o @oder the sides ofan automobile body. 1 r'1`,.1'he ein ment. showm the side .vvalls IIhave front arid rear thickened' portions" I2 and I3 that simulate thefenders oran automobile andthese thickened portions are provided Withdownwardly facing substantially semi-circular Wheel Vrer'esses I4. Atthe inner sides of the Wheel'recesses a'i'd'c'en trally thereoftheside1v tlalls are provided at their loWer edge with axle receivingV notchesI5,v .The

body is also provided withv integral transverse wens le .exten-dingbetween eindwhich con, neet the thicken-ed portions f2r and I3 the eidewane directly above the ame receiving notches I5. Each of the transverseWebs I6 lies in a plane containing the axes of one pair of P. teeriyhoidtne en 7V oleane'. (o1. 4641-221) the axle receiving notches I5`and extends down-4 Wardly toward thenotches I5, so that the bottom.

edgell thereof yis inthe region of the bottoms or upper portigns or thenotches I5 as viewed in Fig. 3. The bottom edge Il of each transverseweb IS may be disposed above the notc hes I5 or may extend down tosubstantially the same plane as the bottoms or upper portions of thenotches I5. l

An axle. I S having Wheels I9' mounted Afor rotation thereon is carriedin the notches I5. When the bottom edge Il of the web is in thev planeof the bottoms of the notches I5 vit will engage the axle I8 and thusprevent vertical movement of the axle.A In this instance the axle may beheld against rotation by :Erictional engagement with the edge I 'lof theWeb l leaving the Wheels free to rotate about the axle. When the bottomedge i "lof the web I6 is slightly spaced upwardly 20 fromthe notchesI5, the axle is also free to rotate and in this instance if desired theWheels may bexed to the axle sothat they rotate With theaxle. Ifdesired, the Wheels may be held in place on the axle by suitable meanssuchas by expanding the ends of the ax1e a fter. the Wheels areassembled thereon: However, when the toy isvproyided With spaced sideWall portions to provide a Wheelrecessili as shown in Fig. 2, it is notnecessary to secure the Wheels against disass embly frorn tl1e axlesince the Wheels Will berestrained from longitudinal movement along theaxle sufficient for removal of the Wheels by theA side Wall portionsdefining the recess I4.

y The axle AI8; may secured to the body of the toybysuitable meansIWhichwill embrace the agileand. be in gripping engagement with ythe bgly. -For example staples could be' inserted will h ytill straddle theaxle and be embedded in the. side Wall portions of the body. A preferredmetljiod orsecurin'g.A the axle to the'body is disclosed in the drawing,In this embodiments. separate gripping l.1ne rnb er, shown' as U-shapein' crees. eeeuen, employed, `:this gripping member. ornfclip 2tisadapt'ed to straddle the tbl its! armas-ntl free. ends. embracing btne web it. rige i and sinusev .les .renie novae@ with. e rmlly projecting prong'sg 2 2 which ositefaces of the web I6 p` in place. Iftl'ietoyis assemblea man upside down position the* axle may' beedisposed onthe toy vso that the Wheels areinvth'ife` rclesseshli vvlilith' the'axle lying in the not 'es I6, the'ri theclip ZI may be disposedover theWeb I6. A suitable tool such as pliers or the like may then be used toforce the legs of the U-shaped clip into close frictional engagementwith the web so that the prongs 22 will be embedded into the web tosecurely hold the axle to the body.

Since the body I is formed of ilexible and elastic material, the axle I8and wheels I9 are yieldably supported on the body and in order tostrengthen the body the webs IB are preferably tapered downwardly so asto provide a relatively stil upper portion to receive the thruststransmitted to the body through the supporting wheels i9.

Although the invention has been shown and described as applied to a toyautomobile of flexible and elastic material, it may be seen that it maybe applied with equal advantage to many other Wheeled toys composed ofvarious materials. Examples of suitable material are moldable plasticsof both thermosetting and thermoplastic nature, natural and syntheticrubbers, particularly those vulcanizable with sulfur, reclaimed rubberor mixtures of the above. It is generally preferable to employ amaterial which is both flexible and elastic, since the resultant productis yieldable with no sharp edges and much safer for children to playwith.

It is to be understood that variations and modifications of the specificdevices herein shown and described for purposes of illustration, may bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A wheeled toy comprising a hollow molded body having spaced side wallportions provided at their bottoms with transversely alined downwardlyopening axle receiving notches on their bottom edges, said body havingan integral cross web4 connecting said side wall portions of the bodyand lying in a plane containing the axes of said notches, an axle seatedin said notches, Wheels on said axle, and a U-shaped attaching memberstraddling said axle and web, engaging said axle and having its free endportions iastened to said web.

2. A toy vehicle comprising a hollow molded body of elastic and flexiblerubber-like material and having spaced side walls with thickenedportions adjacent the front and rear ends thereof provided withdownwardly opening wheel recesses, said walls having axle receivingnotches at the inner sides of said recesses, said body having transverseintegral webs connecting the front thickened portions and connecting therear thickened portions, each of said webs lying in a plane containingthe axes of opposing axle receiving notches and having its bottom edgespaced above said notches, axles seated in said notches, wheels on saidaxles and projecting into said recesses, and a U-shaped clip straddlingeach axle and the web alined therewith, said clip engaging the axle tohold it in said notches, said clip having prongs on the inner sides ofthe arms thereof in gripping engagement with said web.

3. A wheeled toy comprising a hollow body portion having spaced sidewall portions provided at their bottoms with transversely alined axlereceiving notches, a transverse web portion integral with said body andlying in a plane containing the axes of opposing axle receiving notches,an axle mounted in said notches and carrying wheels, and means embracingsaid axle and secured to said transverse web to hold said axle inassembled position with said body during rotation of said Wheels, saidmeans comprising a sheet metal substantially U-shaped clip with its freeends in secure gripping engagement with said transverse web.

4. A wheeled toy comprising a hollow body portion having spaced sideWall portions provided at their bottoms with transversely alined axlereceiving notches, a transverse web portion integral with said body andlying in a plane containing the axes of opposing axle receiving notches,an axle mounted in said notches and carrying wheels, and means embracingsaid axle and secured to said transverse web to hold said axle inassembled position with said body during rotation of said wheels, saidmeans comprising a U-shaped member having projections on its free endsembedded in said transverse web in gripping engagement therewith.

5. A wheeled toy comprising a hollow body portion having spaced sidewall portions provided at their bottoms with transversely alined axlereceiving notches, a transverse web portion integral with said body andlying in a plane containing the axes of opposing axle receiving notchesand extending downwardly to the upper portions of said notches, an axlemounted in said notches and carrying wheels, and means embracing saidaxle and secured to said transverse web to hold said axle in assembledposition with said body during rotation of said wheels, said meanscomprising a sheet metal substantially U-shaped member extending over amajor portion of the axle between said side wall portions and havingportions of its free ends embedded in said transverse web.

6. A wheeled toy which comprises a hollow molded body composed of exibleand elastic rubber-like material having spaced side wall portionsprovided at their bottoms with alined axle receiving notches, said bodyhaving an integral transverse web connecting said side wall portions ofthe body said transverse web lying in a plane containing the axes ofopposing axle receiving notches and extending downwardly to the upperportions of said notches, an axle seated in said notches and havingwheels mounted on the end portions thereof, and a sheet metal memberhaving its central portion in engagement over the major extent of saidaxle between said side wall portions and having its end portions shapedfor gripping engagement with said transverse web.

'7. A wheeled toy which comprises a body member having depending spacedside wall portions and a transverse web portion disposed between saidside wall portions, an axle disposed beneath said transverse webportion, said web and axle lying in a single transverse plane, wheelsmounted on said axle, and a separate one-piece fastening memberembracing opposed sides of said web portion and passing under said axle,said fastening member being securely connected to said body member tohold said axle to the underside of said web portion.

JAMES H. NORTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

